COMMUNAL CLASHES: Buhari expresses worries, to set up committee to address menace

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed concerns over threats of communal clashes in some parts of the country and said he would set up a committee to address the matter.

The President’s senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, who revealed this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, hinted that consultations to commission an inclusive stakeholder committee that will carefully examine issues fueling communal clashes across the country, is ongoing.

Shehu said the committee when set up, would among other duties come up with what will bring an end to ”age-long disagreements that have claimed lives and property, with particular focus on the Tiv/Jukun relationship in Benue and Taraba States.”

He said the lives and properties that have been lost owing to issues of communal clashes, how destinies of families have been altered and increasing insecurity caused by the menace, have become a thing of great concern to Buhari.

He said, “President Buhari believes Nigeria’s cultural diversity remains her greatest strength when properly harnessed and harmonized with a collective vision for unity, peace and shared prosperity, urging more patience as the government identifies and works towards creating more understanding.”

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According to Shehu, the committee would work with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and that its members would be drawn from traditional rulers and religious bodies (specifically the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs).

He added that age groups, market/farmer/hunters associations, local and state government officials as well as relevant security agencies, would be considered in constituting the committee.

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